Octavia E. Butler died Friday February 24th, after falling and striking her head on a walkway outside her home. She was 58 years old. One of the few prominent African-American SF writers, she won 2 Hugos and 2 Nebulas during her career, including a Nebula for her 1998 novel Parable of the Talents. She was awarded a MacArthur Foundation 'genius grant' in 1995.

SF writer Ronald Anthony Cross, born 1937, died March 1st, apparently of a stroke, in Sherman Oaks, California. Cross published dozens of stories and several novels beginning in the early 1970s; novels included Prisoners of Paradise (1988) and the "Eternal Guardians" series with fourth volume The First Guardian forthcoming from Tor.

SF writer David Feintuch died Thursday March 16th, of a heart attack, according to a report received by Locus. Feintuch was author of the long-running Nicholas Seafort series of space navy adventure novels beginning with Midshipman’s Hope in 1994.

SF and fantasy writer John Morressy died Monday, March 20, 2006, of a heart attack at his home in Sullivan, New Hampshire, at the age of 75. Morressy wrote more than 20 books, from space opera to humorous fantasy, and was best known for his novels and stories (mostly in F&SF) about Kedrigern the wizard.

Polish SF writer Stanislaw Lem died today in Krakow at the age of 84. He was author of twice-filmed Solaris (1961, English translation 1970), and his many other works, ranging over themes from aliens to cybernetics to utopian technology, at times blackly humorous and sometimes cast as futuristic parables, included (dates those of English translations) The Cyberiad (1974), The Futurological Congress (1974), The Star Diaries (1976), Tales of Pirx the Pilot (1979), One Human Minute (1986), Fiasco (1987, runner-up for the 1988 Arthur C. Clarke Award), and Hospital of the Transfiguration (1988), as well as nonfiction Microworlds (1985) and memoir Highcastle (1995). Lem was notorious for having a low regard for most American SF writers (except for Philip K. Dick), and had a controversial on-again, off-again membership in SFWA in the 1970s.

Edited December 6, 2008 by Dain

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Locus has confirmed reports of the death of Angus Wells, UK fantasy writer, apparently in a house fire earlier this week. Born 1943, Wells' first novels were SF Star Maidens (1977, as by Ian Evans) and fantasy Raven, Swordmistress of Chaos (1978, written with Robert Holdstock). He wrote numerous further sword & sorcery fantasy novels in several series, the latest being stand-alone Yesterday's Kings for Bantam Spectra in 2001.

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Fantasy writer Lisa A. Barnett, born 1958, died Tuesday May 2nd at her home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, from brain tumor. She and her partner Melissa Scott published three fantasy novels together, The Armor of Light (1988), Point of Hopes (1995), and Point of Dreams (2001), the last of which won a Lambda Literary Award in 2002.

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SF/fantasy writer Arthur Porges, born 1915, died Friday, May 12th, 2006. He wrote dozens of stories in fantasy and mystery magazines from the early 1950s through 2005, including five stories in F&SF since 2003, with Ash-Tree Press publishing collection The Mirror and Other Strange Reflections in 2002. His most-often reprinted stories were "The Fly" (1952) and "The Ruum" (1953).

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UK fantasy writer David Gemmell, born 1948, died this morning at his home, a week following quadruple heart bypass surgery. Gemmell was the author of over 30 novels, including Legend (1984), first in the long-running Drenai series, and numerous other books in the Slipstrassi, Hawk Queen, and Rigante sequences.

"I only met him twice. Once when he was a boy in a second hand bookshop. He asked me if I'd ever read any Michael Moorcock, whose work he really liked. I told him Moorcock was crap, he shouldn't be reading that stuff. Years later I met him again, as a successful author.

Was that you ? he asked. It was, I said. You bastard, he said, that confused me for years. Affable bloke, the little I knew of him. I never read his work, only because I don't read much of the sort of stuff I write, on the whole."

We regret to inform you that publisher Jim Baen passed away on June 28th. He suffered a massive stroke on June 12, 2006 and never woke from it. Jim Baen was a founding partner of Baen Books, one of the largest independent publishers of popular fiction. Since its inception in 1984, Baen evolved to be one of the leading publishers of science fiction and fantasy, and in recent years a leader in electronic publishing and the fight against encrypted books.

Jim Baen started his career in publishing in the complaints department of Ace Books. He moved on to Galaxy magazine in 1973, where his editorial acumen turned the magazine into one of the leading short story venues of the day. He returned to Ace under publisher Tom Doherty to run the science fiction line. When Doherty left to found Tor Books, Jim went with him and established its science fiction line, purchasing its first 170 titles. In 1984 a deal with Simon and Schuster/Pocket Books gave Jim a chance to found his own independent company. S&S has distributed Baen Books ever since. Recently, Baen Books has enjoyed a string of New York Times bestsellers by such authors as David Weber, John Ringo and Eric Flint. Jim also personally worked with Jerry Pournelle, David Drake, Larry Niven, Charles Sheffield, Lois McMaster Bujold and many other authors who shaped the field of modern science fiction. In recent years Jim continued to develop a whole new generation of science fiction writers.

Jim Baen was a personal and vocal champion of unencrypted ebooks. The Baen Books Webscriptions program is a model in the field, and the discussion board at http://bar.baen.com, “Baen’s Bar,” is an active forum and thriving online community. Jim’s piquant wit and incisive commentary will be sorely missed.

Jim is survived by two daughters, Jessica Baen, 29, and Katherine Baen, 14.

The surviving partners of Baen and his heirs intend to continue Jim’s legacy of innovative, independent publishing. Longtime Baen Books executive editor Toni Weisskopf will be acting publisher and direct day-to-day operation of the company. Remembrances of Jim’s life will be held at Tri-noc-Con in Raleigh, NC Saturday, July 22 and Lacon IV, the Worldcon, in Los Angeles, CA in August.

For a complete obituary please go to author David Drake’s website: www.david-drake.com

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UK writer Philip E. High died August 9th, at the age of 92. He wrote 14 novels from The Prodigal Sun (1964) to Blindfold from the Stars (1979), and published short story collections in 2002 and 2004.

SF writer Bob Leman died August 8th at the age of 84. He published 15 stories, all but one in F&SF, from 1967 to 2002, including "Feesters in the Lake" and Nebula-nominated "Window"; all were collected in 2002 Feesters in the Lake & Other Stories.

Bookseller and author Martin Last died July 6, 2006, at the age of 76. With partner Baird Searles he ran New York City's Science Fiction Bookshop from 1973 to 1986, when they moved to Montreal. Last also wrote short fiction, and co-authored 1979 A Reader's Guide to Science Fiction with Searles, Beth Meacham, and Michael Franklin.

Edited August 18, 2006 by Tauntaun13

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Writer and editor Charles L. Grant, born 1942, died yesterday, Sept. 15, 2006, shortly after returning home from a long hospital stay. Grant wrote over 100 books, mostly horror and fantasy, under his own name and a variety of pseudonyms, notably the "Oxrun Station" novels set in an imaginary Connecticut town. He won Nebula Awards for short story "A Crowd of Shadows" and novelette "A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye", World Fantasy Awards for anthology Shadows (first in a 11-volume series), collection Nightmare Seasons, and novella "Confess the Seasons", a special British Fantasy Award in 1987, a Life Achievement Stoker Award in 2000, the World Horror Grandmaster Award in 2002, and the International Horror Guild Living Legend Award in 2003.

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SF and fantasy writer John M. ('Mike') Ford, born 1957, has died at the age of 49. Ford was the author of several diverse and distinctive novels, including World Fantasy Award winning historical fantasy The Dragon Waiting (1983), Star Trek novels The Final Reflection (1984) and How Much for Just the Planet? (1987), SF Growing Up Weightless (1993), co-winner of the Philip K. Dick Award, and urban fantasy The Last Hot Time (2000). Ford won both the World Fantasy and Rhysling awards for long poem "Winter Solstice, Camelot Station" (1988). His last book was short story collection Heat of Fusion and Other Stories (2004).

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SF fan and writer Wilson 'Bob' Tucker, born 1914, died yesterday in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the age of 91. He was a popular convention guest and fanzine publisher, and he wrote both mystery and SF novels, the latter including The Long Loud Silence (1952), The Lincoln Hunters (1958), Ice and Iron (1974), and The Year of the Quiet Sun (1970), which won a retrospective John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1976. He won both a Hugo Award and a Retro-Hugo Award for fan writing, in 1970 and 2004 (for 1953) respectively. He was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1996, and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2003. Tucker is credited with coining the term 'space opera' in 1941, and his frequent use of the names of fans and writers as characters in his books has led to such appearances being known as 'tuckerisms'.

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SF/horror author and screenwriter Nigel Kneale, born 1922, died Sunday, 29 October, at the age of 84. Kneale was best known for writing the 1953 British TV serial The Quatermass Experiment, which was followed by two more serials, three film versions, a 1979 TV serial and separate book version Quatermass also in 1979. Kneale wrote short stories early in his career, collected in Tomato Cain (1949), and wrote scripts for a 1954 TV version of 1984 and for films First Men in the Moon (1964), The Witches (1966), and Halloween III (1982), with changes to his script for the last causing him to remove his name from the final credits.

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SF/fantasy writer Nelson S. Bond, born 1908, died today at the age of 97 following complications from heart valve problems. He sold stories beginning in 1935, writing extensively for Amazing Stories, Fantastic Adventures, Weird Tales, and other magazines. His books include collections The Remarkable Exploits of Lancelot Biggs, Spaceman (1950), Mr. Mergenthwirker's Lobblies and Other Fantastic Tales (1946), Nightmares and Daydreams (1968), and Other Worlds Than Ours (2005), and he published one novel, Exiles of Time (1949). He was a rare book dealer for several decades, and was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1998.

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SF Grand Master Jack Williamson, born 1908, died this afternoon at his home in Portales, New Mexico, at the age of 98. His first published story was "The Metal Man" in Amazing Stories in 1928, the beginning of a writing career that spanned nine decades. His work ranged from early space opera series "The Legion of Space" (beginning 1934), werewolf SF/fantasy "Darker Than You Think" (1940), thoughtful SF classic "The Humanoids" (1948), Golden Age antimatter tale "Seetee Ship" (1951 as by Will Stewart), and time travel series "Legion of Time" (1952). Later works included Hugo and Nebula Award winning novella "The Ultimate Earth" (2000) and its novel expansion "Terraforming Earth" (2001), winner of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He won a Hugo Award in 1985 for autobiography "Wonder's Child", and his career honors include a Pilgrim Award for his nonfiction work including "H.G. Wells: Critic of Progress" (1973), SFWA's 2nd Grand Master Award in 1976, Life Achievement World Fantasy and Bram Stoker awards, induction in the SF Hall of Fame in 1996, and Grandmaster of the World Horror Convention in 2004. The Jack Williamson Science Fiction Library was established in 1982 at Eastern New Mexico University, which for 30 years has hosted an annual Lectureship in honor of the writer. Williamson's last novel was "The Stonehenge Gate" (2005).

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Writer Patricia Matthews, born 1927, died December 7, 2006, at the age of 79. Best known as a romance writer, she also wrote stories for F&SF and Weird Tales, co-wrote Witch World novel On Wings of Magic (1993) with Andre Norton & Sasha Miller, and wrote romantic occult thriller The Unquiet (1991).

Writer Pierce Askegren, born 1955, died in late November, 2006, at the age of 51. He wrote numerous tie-in novels (Buffy, Spider-Man, etc.) as well as the recent SF trilogy Human Resource (2005), Fall Girl (2005), and Exit Strategy (2006).

Edited December 16, 2006 by Tauntaun13

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Actress Jane Wyatt best know for her role as Margaret Anderson in the 50s popular sitcom Father Knows Best died at the age of 96 on October 20, 2006. She was know in SFF for her role as Amanda, Spock's mother in Star Trek: The Original Series.

Joe Barbera, known as the half of Hanna-Barbera animation team, died on December 18, 2006. He had designed such classics as Tom and Jerry,The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo and many others.

This past Monday marked the passing of one of the last true giants in the animation world. To say Joseph Barbera was a legend in his field is simply an understatement.

Joseph Barbera was born on March 24 of 1911 and began his career quite earnestly as a delivery boy for a local tailor in Manhattan and later on, during the time of the Great Depression he attempted to become a cartoonist for a now defunct local New York Magazine. Fortunately for the world of animation, he didn't end up getting this job and instead found employment with the Van Buren Studio in 1932 as a writer and animator till the studio closed down in 1936, after which he found work at MGM Studios. A short year later he moved from his local New York environment out to California to work on MGM's newly launched cartoon division where he met and worked with William Hanna where they began making history with "Puss Gets The Boot", otherwise known as the introduction of two of his most famous characters, Tom and Jerry, who they would continue to develop over the next 17 years.

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Margery Krueger, who wrote SF as Jayge Carr, died December 20, 2006, at the age of 66. Beginning in 1976 she published over 40 short stories in Analog, Omni, F&SF, and other magazines, and was best known for novels Leviathan's Deep (1979) and the "Rabelais" sequence including Navigator's Sindrome (1983), The Treasure in the Heart of the Maze (1985), and Rabelaisian Reprise (1988).

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Writer and visionary Robert Anton Wilson, born 1932, died this morning, January 11, 2007, at the age of 74. He was best known for the Illuminatus novels written wih Robert Shea, beginning with The Eye in the Pyramid (1975), and continuing with several solo works including Masks of the Illuminati (1977). Among later works were the Schrodinger's Cat trilogy (1979-1981), and he co-edited anthology Semiotext(e) SF (1989) with Rudy Rucker and Peter Lamborn Wilson.

Το τελευταίο του blog entry:

Various medical authorities swarm in and out of here predicting I have between two days and two months to live. I think they are guessing. I remain cheerful and unimpressed. I look forward without dogmatic optimism but without dread. I love you all and I deeply implore you to keep the lasagna flying.

Please pardon my levity, I don't see how to take death seriously. It seems absurd.

Edited January 12, 2007 by Tauntaun13

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SF writer and journalist Charles L. Fontenay, born 1917, died January 27, 2007, at the age of 89. He published three dozen stories (mostly in If, Infinity, and Amazing) in the 1950s, three novels from 1958 to 1964 including "The Day the Oceans Overflowed", and numerous children's books after his retirement in 1978, one of which won a Golden Duck Award in 1998.